The present invention relates to flow control devices for refrigerant lines and, more specifically, to a refrigerant flow control valve which may be indexed between different orifice sizes without losing the charge or taking the unit apart.
In a typical refrigeration system, e.g., an air conditioner or heat pump, a capillary tube or other flow control device is installed in the line ahead of the evaporator coil to provide a metering or expansion device for liquid refrigerant. The size of the capillary tube must be properly related to the capacity of the compressor and coil in order to provide proper balance of the system. If a different balance of compressor and coil is desired, it is normally necessary to close the system down in order to install a flow control device of different size or flow control rate. This entails losing the refrigerant charge and, after installation of the new device, recharging the system. Obviously, this is a time-consuming and expensive operation which has been avoided only by continued operation of a refrigeration system at a predetermined balance between the compressor and the evaporator coil.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide an economically effective means for selectively varying the liquid refrigerant flow rate in a refrigeration system without losing the charge or disassembling the flow control unit.
A further object is to provide a selectively indexable flow control device which is adapted to change the size of the orifice through which liquid refrigerant flows in a simple and economical manner.
Another object is to provide a novel and improved, selectively indexed, flow control device for installation in a liquid refrigerant line.
Other objects will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.